Max Verstappen admitted he’s bracing for a “pretty painful” weekend ahead at the 2026 F1 Italian GP, with Monza’s long straights and high-speed layout set to exacerbate energy management demands under the new regulations.
With a much greater reliance on electrical power, the drivers now face a unique challenge at circuits where the cars cannot efficiently recover and deploy energy across a lap, potentially leading to the “super clipping” phenomenon that was especially prominent across the first few rounds of the season.
Monza is expected to provide one of the clearest tests yet of how the new generation cars cope with an energy-limited circuit.
Verstappen expects a “pretty painful” racing experience at 2026 Italian GP
Speaking in a print media session ahead of the Italian GP, Verstappen admitted he’s expecting a challenging weekend regarding energy management.
“Yeah, pretty painful, just very energy inefficient,” Verstappen said on Thursday.
“But I also don’t want to be too negative about it all. It is what it is. I have accepted it mentally also, just prepared for a weekend where it’s a bit different.
“You cannot push flat out and you have to be gentle with the throttle, let’s call it like that.”
2026 regulations still leave a lot to be desired despite ongoing tweaks
In the run up to the 2026 Italian GP, the FIA released race-specific technical notes outlining energy limits and recharge parameters. While steps are being taken to address some of the problems affecting the new gen cars, for example to facilitate more overtaking opportunities, Verstappen believes these tweaks offer only partial improvement, rather than a genuine, long-term fix.
“I mean, it happens on a lot of tracks. You know, changes are being made to try and make it better. But better doesn’t mean fixed,” Verstappen told the media.
“So, it’s far from fixed. But everyone is trying to do the best they can, FIA, F1, to try and deal with the situation.”
He was also uncertain whether this would produce a significant difference in the racing itself.
“I’m not sure if it’s going to change very much. But we’ll see,” Verstappen replied.
“I mean, I hope, of course, that, yeah, I’ll be positively surprised.”
Red Bull not expecting “miracles” at Italian GP
Verstappen acknowledged that Red Bull’s combustion engine remains competitive, but stressed that the new regulations meant the ICE was only part of the equation. With Red Bull denied upgrade allowances under ADUO, Verstappen remained realistic about the team’s prospects.
“Yeah, but now it’s 50-50 engine and battery,” the four-time world champion said.
“And I think on the inefficient tracks, we won’t be particularly great with energy. So, I don’t expect miracles here. It will still be tough.”
Verstappen added: “Other teams around us are bringing upgrades at the moment, so they are making steps forward. We were already behind before, so I don’t expect that to change now.
“But we just try to learn more about the car and things that we want different for next year as well.”
Verstappen reiterates Red Bull’s stance on ADUO as Ferrari brings upgrades for Italian GP
Ahead of the 2026 Italian GP, Verstappen also addressed the ongoing discussions between Red Bull and the FIA regarding ADUO. Under the FIA’s current narrow testing methods, Red Bull boasts the strongest engine. However, the full picture is more complicated, with the team enduring a difficult start to the season and generally adrift of the top teams in terms of competiveness—a gap that may continue to widen as rivals avail of an upgrade system Red Bull has been locked out of.
“I mean, same comments from my side as the last time,” Verstappen said.
“We are surprised as a team, we don’t see the same outcomes. So, yeah, we’re still in discussion with the FIA about it. We will see what comes out of it.”
